On her sixth country album, ROSES IN THE SNOW, Emmylou Harris decided to explore her growing interest in bluegrass music. It was a bold move: first, because bluegrass had traditionally been the exclusive domain of men (Hazel Dickens being the most notable exception to the rule), and second, because it meant breaking with a formula that had served her well on her five previous releases. Harris tilted the odds back in her favour by assembling an all-star supporting cast including Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, and the Whites, then selecting--with usual impeccable taste--10 great songs for inclusion on the album.As one would expect, Harris salutes the masters of bluegrass here, reworking numbers associated with Ralph Stanley ("The Darkest Hour is Just Before the Dawn"), Bill Monroe ("Wayfaring Stranger") and Flatt and Scruggs ("I'll Go Stepping Too"). Digging even further back, she also comes up with, and delivers on, A.P. Carter's "Gold Watch and Chain" and Bill Halley's "Miss the Mississippi and You", both vestiges of recorded music's earliest era. It's not all ancient history, however: ROSES also includes a hit version of Paul Simon's "The Boxer", miraculously recast as a bluegrass-friendly number.